When does parental leave "fly into people's homes"? The reporter's investigation found that...

Changsha Evening News all-media reporter Liu Qi

"The ideal is very full, the reality is very bone." Not long ago, citizen Zhang Xin applied to the unit for parental leave, but was rejected, and she issued such an exclamation in the WeChat circle of friends.

Parental leave is no longer an unfamiliar word to many citizens. However, many new parents in Changsha are "looking forward to 'fake' sighing", some want to take a vacation and are rejected, and some are forced to take a vacation due to workplace pressure. Many enterprises also have a misunderstanding of parental leave, believing that it is a "welfare" that can be selectively implemented. In Hunan, parental leave has existed for more than 4 months, when will it really "fly into the homes of the people"? In this regard, the reporter launched an investigation.

Voice "Parental leave, too necessary!"

On December 3 last year, the 27th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th Hunan Provincial People's Congress voted to pass the newly revised Hunan Provincial Population and Family Planning Regulations (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), which came into effect on the date of promulgation. The "Regulations" make it clear that couples who meet the statutory conditions for childbirth can enjoy ten days of parental leave per year within the age of three years of their children, and parental leave is regarded as attendance.

According to the relevant person in charge of the Provincial Health and Construction Commission, in view of the fact that some families do not have time and energy to take care of infants and young children and "do not want to give birth" and "dare not give birth", the Regulations have added two aspects of childcare protection provisions, parental leave is one of them, so that parents have time for temporary infant and child care.

Yang Lin, a lawyer at Hunan Tiandiren Law Firm and a legislative advisory expert of the Standing Committee of the Changsha Municipal People's Congress, has participated in the drafting or legislative hearing of many provincial and municipal local regulations and rules. "Parental leave, or 'co-parental leave', is more appropriate. In a practical sense, the object of parental leave is both parents in the workplace, which is conducive to strengthening the concept of family education on the one hand, and is also a reflection of gender equity in the workplace on the other hand. Yang Lin believes that parental leave, as a supporting measure for the national three-child policy, is very necessary. Many legal experts said that parental leave will also play a positive role in reducing employment discrimination and prompting women to return to the workplace.

"Parental leave, too timely, too necessary!" Citizen Wang Xiao is a mother of two children, and her youngest son is less than 2 years old. She told reporters that children are sometimes sick, but she and her husband are busy with work and can only be in a hurry; now, with parental leave, it will be much more convenient if it can be taken, and it will also give children more companionship. In the interview, many parents of infants and young children expressed their support and expectations for parental leave.

Survey Sounds good, but it's hard to take a vacation

Last month, citizen Wang Xiangyang asked the personnel department of the unit about parental leave, but the reply was that "the company has not yet formulated detailed rules." "The personnel commissioner first told me that I needed to report to the company's leaders and then give a reply, and then said that parental leave was not under the control of their department, so I went to the company's department in charge of family planning work." Wang Xiangyang went around and asked questions, but he did not get a positive answer that he could take a vacation.

Many employees of enterprises told reporters that "no detailed rules", "government departments have not issued red-headed documents", "have not received relevant notices" or "have not heard of this leave" are the most reasons given by employers to refuse leave.

At the same time, some parents are anxious and hope to catch the "tail" to take a vacation. "My daughter has a birthday on May 3 and will soon turn 3. If the unit does not approve me to take parental leave, I can only regret missing this good policy. Citizen Li Ting said that at present, the company has not agreed to her leave request. The Municipal Health Commission pointed out in response to netizens' inquiries that according to the interpretation of the Provincial Health commission's Population and Family Department, the "annual" provisions on parental leave in the Regulations refer to the day from the day of the child's birthday to the day before the next birthday as a year, rather than a natural year. For example, Li Ting's child turned 3 years old on May 3 this year, and according to the Regulations, she and her husband do need to enjoy 10 days of parental leave before this date, because the annual parental leave should be used in the current year and not transferred to the next year.

In the investigation and interview, the reporter found that the novice parents who can successfully take parental leave are a minority, and the female parents' desire for parental leave is generally higher than that of male parents. Li Bin, a new father, works in marketing planning work in a real estate company, and his daily work is very busy. "At present, the company is in a general state of operation, and I am worried that taking time off will have a negative impact on myself. Besides, you can't hide from work at home on vacation. Li Bin admitted that the parental leave himself "wants to take a break but dare not take a break." There are also many male parents who said that they have mentioned "parental leave" with the employer, but the employer always has a reason to "reject" it, believing that men are not the "main force" in the work with the baby.

It is recommended to explore the pilot mechanism of labor cost sharing

Why is it difficult to take parental leave? Many employers believe that parental leave is an "encouraging policy" that can be selectively implemented; some business leaders told reporters that the 10 days of parental leave per year increase the burden on enterprises, because employees have to pay salaries while reducing their working hours, which is equivalent to the compression of profit margins. The reporter found in the investigation that the implementation of parental leave is generally not optimistic. At this stage, the labor costs increased due to the holiday cannot be reasonably shared, and it is difficult for enterprises to actively promote it.

"During the vacation period, only the basic salary can be paid, the performance bonus is not, the subsidy must be withheld, and even the leader hints that the year-end bonus and job promotion may be affected." Some employees of enterprises said that although the company agreed to take parental leave, it would affect the actual income and even career development.

Yang Lin believes that the Hunan Provincial Population and Family Planning Regulations are local regulations that enterprises must comply with, rather than optionally. "Although the Regulations have not yet set specific administrative penalties, this does not mean that the refusal of enterprises to approve parental leave is legal. As a worker's statutory right to rest, parental leave is also protected by law, and if a company violates its rights, it will not be recognized by the court. Yang Lin told reporters that in practice, it is still necessary to consider the actual factors of enterprises, under the premise of their own "no detailed rules", enterprises should uphold the concept of "good management", under the premise of conforming to public order and good customs, the specific arrangements for parental leave should be negotiated by enterprises and workers on an equal footing.

In fact, the real implementation of parental leave does face a lot of embarrassment. Experts pointed out that the relevant policies on parental leave are formulated by the health department, but to a large extent, it depends on the human resources and social security department to ensure the implementation, and the latter has not issued specific implementation standards. Yang Lin believes that in order to make parental leave truly land, we can consider taking multiple measures in parallel and multi-departmental linkage, and jointly issuing specific implementation measures. "For example, at present, it is necessary to issue implementation rules as soon as possible to clarify the right to grant leave, the method of leave, the discount of leave and related legal responsibilities; and it is also necessary to strengthen the publicity of parental leave, labor inspection and labor law supervision of trade unions." At the same time, Yang Lin suggested that the government pay attention to the increase in labor costs of enterprises caused by the implementation of parental leave, explore the pilot mechanism of labor cost sharing, and solve the worries of enterprises, so as to mobilize the enthusiasm of enterprises and make parental leave a reality as soon as possible.

(At the request of the interviewee, Zhang Xin, Wang Xiao, Wang Xiangyang, Li Ting, and Li Bin are pseudonyms)

Journalist's Note

Don't let the policy dividend become a "bone reality"

Not long ago, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court issued the first "Notice of Family Education" in Hunan. This is the first Family Education Notice issued by the Hunan court system since the Family Education Promotion Law came into effect. A notice clearly stated that Hunan's policy of "bringing babies according to law" is enforceable.

As a local regulation, the "Hunan Provincial Population and Family Planning Regulations" clearly stipulates that couples who meet the statutory birth conditions can enjoy ten days of parental leave every year within the age of three years of their children. The "enjoyment" of employees should be a mandatory policy rather than an encouraging policy for the employer, and it is the benefits that employees "should enjoy" under the applicable policies. What the employer needs to do is to respect and comply with the laws and regulations of the employee, and should no longer set a threshold for the employee to take parental leave or even refuse the employee's leave request.

In reality, in addition to "not being able to take a break", the phenomenon of "not daring to take a break" is also more prominent. Some employers have made it clear that parental leave can be taken, but many employees are afraid to apply for leave, and they have many concerns. Moreover, because the leave group often belongs to the "very small minority" among employees, employers prevaricate on the grounds of "not understanding the policy" and "not yet out of the detailed rules", so that good policies have become a "bone reality".

In fact, the small parental leave is full of humanistic care, which means that parents have more companionship with infants and young children, which is difficult to measure with money, and it is difficult for parents to make up for the growth process of children once they miss it. Parental leave, as a new thing, like a newborn, deserves more care.